November 29, 2011 by Mark Lidstone

Zombies II – Chapter 3

This is the third chapter in my Vote Your Own Adventure series. You are in control. Vote on the options at the end to decide what happens next. A new chapter will be posted every Tuesday and the voting will end every Friday. Read chapter two here.

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS NOW CLOSED. A NEW CHAPTER IS POSTED EVERY TUESDAY

PASSWORD PROTECTED

The Savage’s face is inches from Dunville’s and its teeth are bared. Victoria readies the pistol but hesitates before aiming it.

She knows if she saves Dunville, he would never let her go back for Jacob. Even if she shoots the monster and runs, the only way to assure its death was to hit it in the head – a nearly impossible shot from where she is standing. There is a good chance that she would just pull its attention from Dunville to her.

She looks into Dunville’s pleading eyes. He struggles to hold off the monster, begging her to help him. Victoria lowers her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

She can hear Dunville scream as she turns her back on him. The Savage lets out a howl and the hallway fills with the sound of crushing bones.

The number of zombies in the hallway has increased. Dozens from other hallways have joined the group. They moan and shuffle closer to her.

She raises the pistol and fires it into the crowd. The bullet pierces the skull of a young girl near the front. She drops to the floor and immediately another takes her place.

Victoria knows she can’t shoot them all. There’s only one way through: to push past them like Dunville had done. She glances back at Dunville. The Savage is ripping his insides out and shoving blood and muscle into its mouth. Dunville’s eyes stare blankly towards Victoria. She looks away.

Victoria stares into the nearing crowd and lowers her head before sprinting towards them like a tiny football player. She aims for the side of the group where there are fewer zombies and pushes her way through.

She’s forced to slow down as she gets past the first few bodies. The group is closing in on her, forming a wall around her. She can’t get past them.

Panicking, Victoria turns around to try and go back the way she came but they have surrounded her. She covers her head as she’s pushed to the floor. She attempts to crawl under them but doesn’t get far before they pin her down onto her stomach.

The air is thick with an overwhelming smell, a mixture of blood and rotten meat. Their moans are excited and sound like hundreds of angry bees buzzing around her head. Fear and claustrophobia set in and she thrashes her arms wildly, struggling to push them away from her. There are too many.

They fight against each other, each one wanting the first bite. A mouth nears her ear, its jaws flapping as it struggles to push past the others. Victoria can feel the monster’s tongue, flapping and licking at her ear. She tries to reach back to push it away but there are too many bodies pressing against her. She cries out in the darkness.

The teeth press against her ear but are pulled away before they can break her skin. She can feel the pressure ease as bodies are removed one by one. She’s finally able to turn her head to see what’s happening.

The Savage is standing above her. It screams as it tosses Victoria’s attackers down the hall and away from her. Its arms and face are dripping with Dunville’s blood.

With the majority of the zombies gone, Victoria pushes herself to her feet and runs with the pistol gripped tightly. She only gets a few feet before she hears the howl of the Savage behind her, followed by the rapid sound of something heavy banging against the floor. She glances back to see it chasing after her on all fours.

Victoria runs as fast as she can but she can hear it gaining on her. She turns around and blindly fires at the beast until the gun empties. Most of the bullets wiz past but one strikes it in the leg. The monster stumbles and falls to the floor, tumbling down the hallway. It slams hard into the wall just as Victoria turns the corner.

She grabs the handle of the first door she finds and turns it. Relieved to find it isn’t locked, she throws herself into the room and shuts the door behind her. She slams her back against it and listens.

She can hear the faint sounds of heavy footsteps and breathing coming from the hallway. She holds her breath as the steps reach the door and stop. Victoria stares at the floor and watches as pale, pink blood oozes through the bottom of the door and pools at her feet.

Victoria closes her eyes and waits. The only sound she hears is the heavy thumping of her heart against her chest. Minutes feel like hours and still, she doesn’t hear anything.

Did it leave? She would have heard it leave. There’s a lot of blood on the floor at her feet. Could it have died outside the door? She has to check.

Victoria turns around and grabs the door handle, turning it slowly. A scream erupts from the other side of the door, followed by the sound of wood cracking and splintering. She throws herself away from the noise and stumbles deeper into the room as the Savage tears the door apart.

Then, nothing. She looks back at the door. It hasn’t changed. She can hear the frustrated cries of the Savage in the hallway. Its feet and hands slam against the floor again as it runs down the hallway and away from her.

Victoria sighs in relief. She walks towards the door but stops. She shouldn’t risk leaving just yet. The Savage could come back at any minute.

She looks around the room. It isn’t a dorm like the others. This one is an office. A large wooden desk sits in the middle of the room. There’s a computer on top and a large, leather chair behind it.

She walks around the desk towards the chair but is forced to hold back a scream when she sees the body of a man, in a military uniform, laying on the floor. Blood pools in the giant hole at the back of his head and a silver revolver is in his hand.

Victoria covers her mouth with her hand and walks around him. She slumps into the chair in front of the computer.

The screen is black but a tiny, yellow light on the monitor shows it has power. She moves the mouse and the computer wakes up.

A login window sits in the middle of the screen. The username field says “ltMorris” and the password field is empty. Victoria types “password” and hits the enter key.

The window vibrates indicating the wrong password was entered. Near the password field, tiny red type appears. “1 attempt remaining.”

Victoria sighs and leaves it alone. She notices a piece of paper on the desk near the keyboard. It’s a letter handwritten in blue ink and speckled with blood. She picks it up.

Elizabeth,

I want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry and I pray you aren’t the one to find me like this. If you’re even still alive.

The attack was imminent. It was happening all over – safe zones were being wiped out one by one by organized attacks. If you had of told me a week ago that these things could be coordinated I would have laughed in your face. Now, I know better.

They started surrounding us a few weeks back but we weren’t falling for it. We had watched it happen too many times already. Hundreds of them gathering around outside of the safe zones until there were too many to fight off. I issued a kill on sight command. Any zombie that got close was instantly dropped. They stopped coming. We thought we’d won.

I was the first to see him. He stood atop the hill to the North. He was alone and he didn’t move. He just watched me with those white eyes. For days he stood there. Then, on the third day, he moved. He raised his hand and pointed directly at me.

The runners came first, hidden behind the hill. They sprinted past their leader and to the walls at the bottom. There were hundreds of them. We opened fire and dropped as many as we could but they kept coming. We couldn’t stop them. Some climbed the walls while the others piled against the doors, straining them until they broke. He just watched from the top of the hill. I’ll swear to God and anyone else that he was laughing at us as his minions forced their way in.

I’ve been bitten, Elizabeth. I was cornered by six of them. I killed every last one of them but I took a hit. I can already feel the effects. I don’t have much longer.

I’m writing you this letter to warn you. You need to get out of Vancouver. I’ve heard talks about something called Project Gerra. Everything I know about it is on my computer. But please, get out of here.

I love you, Elizabeth.
-David

Project Gerra? Victoria looks back at the computer screen. She recognizes the interface, it was the same login system they had used at her old job. When they’d set her account up, they had used her first name as her default password. She was then allowed to change it. She’d changed hers to “elenajacob.”

If the password was never changed it could possibly be Lt. Morris’ first name, “David.” But if he had changed it, it’s very possible it could be his wife’s name, “Elizabeth.”

Victoria pauses with her fingers on the keys. She only has one chance at this.

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS NOW CLOSED. A NEW CHAPTER IS POSTED EVERY TUESDAY

Which password does she use?
A: David
B: Elizabeth